The wsfb driver uses whatever graphics mode the console is set to
(by Mac OS) as a dumb unaccelerated framebuffer in 8 bits per pixel.
You should be able to use 'startx' or xdm to start X without further
configuration.

Hi ocicat !
I thought there might be a general answer to my question regardless of dmesg and such ..
Here is what happened :
I have 2 iBook g3 : one 5.3 stable (X is well-shape : the one I want to generate xorg.conf for) .. the other one is running -current and now that it's upgraded to the latest snapshots (5.4 beta) , X has a bad display .. I don't want to just restore , I want to be able to compare both ibooks respective xorg.conf
When there is no such /etc/xorg.conf since it's never been neede (if only there have been some automated creation of it upon install for cases like this -legacy hardware with issues- ) .. and when the command 'X -configure' freezes machine .. what's to be done?

If only the X Windows System has hung, you may be able to abort it. Xorg has an "Alt-Ctrl-Backspace" sequence which will stop X on other architectures. There might be an equivalent for macppc.

If only the X Windows System has hung, perhaps the OS is still running? If the platform is running sshd(8), if the system is still operating you can use ssh(1) from another system, conduct any analysis, kill X, etc.

Quote:

/var/crash and /var/log/Xorg.log.0 are no help.

If the system has actually hung, there won't be a dump of the system unless you create one via ddb(4). You will need to set appropriate sysctls in advance, and you may not be able to see output on your display if X has taken control of your system. Practice using ddb in console mode, so that you know what to type and what to expect when you can't actually see any ddb output.

I have already mentioned that the Xorg log should be of unrecognized value.

When 'X -configure' fails , I mean , it just freezes the machine (eg. iBook g3) is there some other way to generate the already working well xorg.conf file?

Do you mean that X -configure does not generate xorg.conf.new in /root or that when you startx using the newly generated file that your system fails?

If you have an xorg.conf.new it may be helpful to post it. Based on the cpu speed I scanned the wikipedia entry for ibook g3 and they indicate you should have a ati rage video card

You may want to read the r128(4) page and ensure that is the video driver utilized in the device section of your xorg.conf.

It may also be helpful is to look at the .xsession-errors in your home directory.
I tried current on a system with an sis video card and there were error messages about openbox and xinerama (It ran fine in 5.3). Edit2: .xsession is only generated if using an x session manager ie xdm - if you are using startx exclusively you will not have one.

Newer versions of Xorg can utilize entries in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d. The advantage of this is that you can just make entries that deal with the problematic area. For example, I used the radeonhd driver on my system for a while and the only entry needed in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d was

Thanks shep , jggimi , ocicat !!!! Sorry for being late for an output.

Code:

Do you mean that X -configure does not generate xorg.conf.new in /root or that when you startx using the newly generated file that your system fails?

The generated xorg.conf.new at /root is but an empty file (0B)
startx actually works but with bad shape (on current) and this applies to iBook G3 and G4 which is now running current too... 'startx' doesn't freeze OS but 'X -configure' does .. the -current X screen has now a 1.8 cm height line at the bottom. it's not a big problem but I want to ensure an akways working X as I go using current and that's why I asked wether it's possible to have previous Xorg settings working on newer version of Xorg that's been installed.I remember Reinhold's help (thanks Reinhold !) providing a working xorg.conf for iMac g3 I always face this issue : now X is working .. tomorrow not working .. how can I ensure I have it always functional while still running current ?

Am I wrong thinking an old working xorg.conf file to always be used (regardlss of X version?) is a safety measure not to lose X after upgrades ?

Quote:

Xorg has an "Alt-Ctrl-Backspace" sequence which will stop X on other architectures.

Both of your Xorg logs show that your platform is running in framebuffer mode. Your dmesg shows an ATI video card.

Read along with me in FAQ 11.2.10 for macppc. It appears you've missed this vital information:

Quote:

Supported Macintosh PPC systems can be run in one of two different ways: "accelerated" and "framebuffer" (unaccelerated).

In the "framebuffer" mode, the system will be running with 8 bits per pixel, and the video resolution is controlled by the Macintosh environment, so you will probably want to keep a small MacOS section on your disk to adjust these settings. This mode has the advantage of "Just Working", however it can be frustratingly inflexible (for example, altering resolution may require booting MacOS).

If your Macintosh has an ATI-based video system, it can run using an accelerated X server, which gives better performance and more control in the OpenBSD environment. The NVIDIA video cards in some macppc systems will also work in many cases. The README file has details on configuring the accelerated driver, start by using the sample file there.

This is not true anymore for iMac g3 .. with usb keyboard now that I upgraded Puffy to latest snapshot (Tue Jul 30) and for the first time I can change screens with Alt-Ctrl-F1/F2/F3 but sometimes it freezes iMac ..

Hi LeFrettchen & thanks for trying to help.I've been playing with many xorg.conf cocktails but nothing worked .. server's versions &/or module requirement mismatches etc etc and it's hard for an simple user to quickly find the right settings.
(all in all : for iBooks g3/g4 OpenBSD 5.3 stable is fine but -current has a slight issue in display .. for iMac g3 X server fails both on 5.3 stable and on -current)

The version of X,org in 5.4 current is new enough that most configuration should be done automagically.

The advantage I alluded to is that using an /etc/xorg.conf.d is that you can override the automagic configuration one element at at time. When you try to use the older xorg.conf, the entire configuration has to to be both correct and complete. Commonly, it will indicate that screens are not configured.

If you use an xorg.conf.d, which is a directory and not a file, is that you can just change just the video driver. As in the example the rage128 driver over rides and leave the system to set up the input devices, screens, modules and fonts. The same short entry would also be where you could add the options for NoAccell and turn off the framebuffer.

Configuration
Note: Arch supplies default configuration files in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d, and no extra configuration is necessary for most setups.

Xorg uses a configuration file called xorg.conf and files ending in the suffix .conf for its initial setup: the complete list of the folders where these files are searched can be found at [1] or by running man xorg.conf, together with a detailed explanation of all the available options.
Using .conf files

The /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ directory stores user-specific configuration. You are free to add configuration files there, but they must have a .conf suffix: the files are read in ASCII order, and by convention their names start with XX- (two digits and a hyphen, so that for example 10 is read before 20). These files are parsed by the X server upon startup and are treated like part of the traditional xorg.conf configuration file. The X server essentially treats the collection of configuration files as one big file with entries from xorg.conf at the end.
Using xorg.conf

Another resource is this page with various xorg.conf files for Mac's running linux.http://mac.linux.be/content/xorgconf-files
The value is that you can just take the device section and put it into the /etc/xorg.conf.d directory using the rules from the Arch wiki. The Busi id's, device drivers and monitor settings will not change.

Since is it possible to damage a monitor, at least the older CRT's, with incorrect monitor settings, I would recommend that you try just device entries in the /etc/xorg.conf.d directory using the Arch linux naming conventions.
For example
For a 500mhz ibook g3 copy the device entry into /etc/xorg.conf.d/20-r128.conf

daemonfowl, your "working" X.org logs showed you were in framebuffer mode, and you've described the problem as "X has a bad display". I don't know what your symptoms are, since you never described them. As FAQ 11.2.10 states, and as I quoted above, in framebuffer mode resolution must be managed from MacOS.

The X.Org errors you are seing, "module requirement mismatch," are rare with OpenBSD. They occur when X.Org code modules are not in sync with each other.

It is possible that your snapshot was built during a time of transition within the Xenocara code base, such as during the XAA transition mentioned above.

You can wait for the next snapshot, or build Xenocara yourself, and see if this particular problem is resolved.